04.21.08
The Battle of Thermopylae
Or as most people know it now: The Battle of 300. This amazing period of Mediterranean history was wrought with much death and destruction. Well, actually most of early Mediterranean history was like that, but the Battle of Thermopylae was certainly the crux for the Greek people.
Xerxes, though definitely a murderous tyrant, had nothing on his predecessors, Croesus and Darius II. Croesus was a profoundly determined man. He, like many tyrant kings, wanted to expand his empire. I won’t go into what he did to earn his deadly reputation…just read The Histories by Herodotus. The book is very easy to read, and is extremely fascinating and horrifying at the same time.
Back to the 300…the Battle of Thermopylae obviously stuck with people down through the ages. I mean, the Battle of Marathon was probably one of the most important Battles in ancient history, but more people know about Thermopylae than they do Marathon. The Battle of the 300 epitomizes the very nature of Spartan Greeks at the time.
The movie, 300, was simply gorgeous. They kept the culture fairly accurate, though some nuances were changed for modern audiences. What I loved about the movie (other than the amazing art and colors) was the accurate depiction of Spartan battle. The phalanx was the patented Spartan battle configuration. Each warrior kept the warrior on the left covered with their shield. There were no weaknesses in the phalanx and that is how the Spartans rose to fame as the strongest warriors in the world. To make the phalanx, you need a 300 shield. You will also need a 300 sword. Shield in the left, sword in the right…unstoppable.
Come check out our medieval weapons and read The Histories by Herodotus!
